I read in here that the reason its listed twice is maybe because Mp3tagShell.dll was manually registered. Does anyone know how to remove the second entry to the right click menu? I am using windows 11 and Mp3Tag 64 bit version. I went into the registry and there is only 1ea entry for the Directory, Drive and File key.
Does one of the entries lead to problems?
No if I click on either one it opens the current 64 bit version 3.28f.
There are tools around to show (and edit) the shell extensions.
See e.g. this thread:
Yes I have already done this. I have 3 different shell tools. So I actually found the listings in the registry. In the original post I stated that there is only 1ea entry for the Directory, Drive and File key. There is not a duplicate listed. So there must be another registry listing hiding somewhere. Or some other entry.
Could be. But this something that you have to find out locally.
One way could be: uninstall the current version and see whether both MP3tag entries have gone. If not, investigate again, where the link may be stored.
And then you install MP3tag again.
Do you know if I remove Mp3Tag will I lose all my settings in Options? Or will I lose any of my Actions or Scripts that I have made?
Yes. if you don't create a backup first.
See the documentation:
Just a small addition: the uninstaller also asks if you want to remove the configuration settings. So it's possible to uninstall without loosing the options.
I'd still recommend to perform a backup from time to time, as outlined by ohrenkino.
What I actually did was use - Easy Context Menu and disabled the Mp3TagShell using the mouse option at the top - ContextMenu Cleaner. In the window thats opens up, look under - Directory and Drive and find - Mp3tagShell and uncheck it. Even though you are making the selection under HKCR what the application did was modify the (Default) string value in the registry by adding a - (dash) prefix to the CLSID (e.g., changing {6351E20C-35FA-4BE3-98FB-4CABF1363E12} to -{6351E20C-35FA-4BE3-98FB-4CABF1363E12}). This effectively disables the context menu handler because Windows ignores CLSIDs prefixed with a dash when loading shell extensions.
Additionally, Easy Context Menu applies this change across multiple registry locations to ensure the item is disabled for all relevant contexts:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
This is a clever, non-destructive way to disable items without moving or deleting them, making it easy to reverse.
The application disabled both HKCR & HKLM this way.
To manually re-enable the Mp3tagShell item:
Remove the - prefix from the (Default) string value in each registry key (e.g., change -{6351E20C-35FA-4BE3-98FB-4CABF1363E12} back to {6351E20C-35FA-4BE3-98FB-4CABF1363E12}).
This will restore the context menu handler to its active state in Windows.
Steps to Re-Enable via Easy Context Menu
If you prefer using Easy Context Menu to manage this instead of manual registry edits, here’s how you can re-enable the item:
Open Easy Context Menu.
Go to the ContextMenu Cleaner tab.
Select Directory or Drive in the dropdown (depending on where you disabled it).
Look for Mp3tagShell in the list under ContextMenu Cleaner.
If it’s disabled, it might appear grayed out or unchecked. Check/enable it again.
This should remove the - prefix from the (Default) value in all relevant registry keys.
Why This Works
Adding a - prefix to a CLSID is a standard way to disable shell extensions without deleting them. It’s reversible, safe, and doesn’t require moving keys around. Windows simply skips loading any CLSID that starts with a dash when populating the context menu.
Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Mp3tagShell
Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Mp3tagShell
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Mp3tagShell
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Mp3tagShell
I think the reason I had duplicate context menu entries was because several versions ago the context menu items were no longer showing. This was around the introduction of the x64 version. So I manually registered the mp3tag dll and then when the issue was fixed in a future update the normal context menu items returned giving me duplicates. Not sure exactly this is just my best guess.